Hurricane Alex
|type = Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS)|image location = C5Alex2022Sim.png|image caption = Alex at peak intensity prior to landfall in Haiti on August 29|formed = August 24|dissipated = September 11|accumulated cyclone energy = TBA|highest winds = 160 mph (260 km/h)|wind type = 1-min winds|lowest pressure = 919 millibars (hPa)|damages = $39.745 billion (2022 USD)|direct fatalities = 6,904|indirect fatalities = 302|missing = 165,389|areas affected = Windward Islands, St. Vincent, Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, South Florida, Mexico (tropical storm force winds), Texas|hurricane season = 2022 Atlantic hurricane season}}Hurricane Alex was one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes for Haiti in recent history, but remains behind Hurricane Flora of 1963. The first named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2022 season, Alex caused one of the largest crisises for Haiti in recent history, tied with the Haiti earthquake of 2010 for structural damages. In Cuba, damages mostly came from the immense storm surges of 20 ft. In the Bahamas and Florida, recovery from Hurricane Fred of 2021 was moderately hindered by the passage of Alex. In Texas, structural damages and storm surges severely affected Brownsville and other coastal cities. In total, Alex caused over 6,000 fatalities, mostly from Haiti and Texas, and over $39 billion dollars of damages. Meteorological history On October 10, the National Hurricane Center highlighted a vigorous tropical wave off the coast of Africa for potential tropical cyclone development. The system tracked westward, entering into higher shear mainly from the Saharan Air Layer, in which radar imagery showed the system haphazarded. However, as the system continued moving in a westwardly motion, the system entered into moderate shear, in which showers and thunderstorms gradually systematized, forming into an invest on October 13, near the Windward Islands. The invest entered into an area of major Ocean Heat Content, and temperatures ranging from 28-31°C. On October 14, a hurricane hunter reconnaissance aircraft recorded wind speeds of 35 knots, which prompted the National Hurricane Center to issue advisories on Tropical Storm Alex. During the next 3 RECON aircraft flights, Alex showed major signs of strengthening, due to entering warmer waters around 32°C in the Caribbean Sea, shear rapidly dissipating, and amid moisture from other systems. On October 15, Alex passed through the Windward Islands, especially St Vincent and the Grenadines, in which the storm was recorded to have windspeeds of 60 knots, or 70 mph recorded by Hurricane Chasers and low-level RECON mission #6 into Alex. On that same day, Mission #7 of the RECON reconnaissance aircraft missions recorded 65 knots within Alex, and radar imagery supporting the development of an ragged eye-wall system, and the center of the storm gradually developing. The mission recorded hurricane-force winds stretching out 10 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds stretching out through the rest of the storm in a 10 mile radius away from hurricane-force winds. Preparations Windward Islands Haiti Cuba The Bahamas United States Florida Texas Mexico Impact Windward Islands Haiti Cuba The Bahamas United States Florida Texas Mexico Aftermath Retirement Category:Major Hurricanes Category:Future Hurricanes